Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
I first started posting here about three weeks ago during a bad insomnia episode. I was very desperate and needed advice and reassurance. Partly thanks to you guys, I got relief. I would like to share my new habits here in the hopes it might help others. Here's how my day goes:
7:20 AM - Wake up via alarm clock. Always wake at the same time each day.
7:30 AM - Floss teeth and use mouthwash. Don't use mouthwash at night because it will dry out your mouth, which will be uncomfortable in itself and keep you awake, and it will make you thirsty before bed, which might lead to you running to the bathroom at night.
7:45 AM - Eat a medium sized breakfast. Never skip.
8:00 AM - Ride bike to work. Exercise is very important.
9:00 AM - Have first and only coffee of the day. Spiking your energy level at the start of the day establishes a rhythm that allows you to wind down by the end of the day. No more caffeine or sugary beverages for the rest of the day. Make entry in sleep journal about how much sleep I got and other stuff.
12:00 PM - Eat a medium sized lunch (don't skip!) and go outside for a 20-minute walk. Get out of the shadows and let the sun shine on face and skin. No sunglasses--let it get in your eyes. Sunlight exposure is critical for proper melatonin production in body. Exercise is also very important.
3:00 PM - Go outside again for another walk, maybe 15 minutes. Again, get sunlight the whole time and walk continuously.
5:00 PM - Ride bike back home.
6:00 PM - Eat normal dinner.
8:00 PM - Computer off for the rest of the night starting now. All lights off except for one (which is dimmed REALLY low) starting now. Bright lights throw off melatonin production. Take shower now. Heat and pressure from the water is stimulating and shouldn't be done close to bed. Bathroom lit by a candle--no bright lights. Brush teeth.
8:30 - 9:30 PM - Sit reclined on couch watching relaxing/stupid TV program. Let muscles slowly relax and let heat from shower radiate from body. Cool down. Turn on bedroom humidifier and hang wet towels in bedroom to moisten the air (dry mouth and thirst is a sleep problem of mine).
9:30 - 10:15 PM - Turn off TV and start reading enjoyable fiction book. Stay on couch.
10:15 PM - Take 1/4 Melatonin tablet and 1/2 Xanax. Ideally, I would take no Xanax at all, but I can't cut it off yet and have to gradually cut it down to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
10:45 PM - Go to bed. Blackout curtains in bedroom must be totally shut and the alarm clock turned around so I can't see the time and stress over it. Room is almost pitch black each night--I can just see a black outline of my hand if I hold it in front of my face. Sleep usually comes in a half hour.
Other important lessons I've learned:
-Benzo drugs WORK, but they also have bad side effects if you use them for more than 2-3 weeks. It's a good idea to have a couple pills on standby just in case.
-Insomnia comes in episodes that last at least a couple consecutive days. If an episode starts, you cannot get out of it right away and will just have to more or less work with it. If you adopt a rigid schedule like I have, make some other changes particular to you (stress exercises, therapy, whatever), and STICK WITH IT each day, you will eventually reset your body's sleep schedule and you will prevail. But a couple days of misery might happen before that. Cope with the problem until then, and hold out hope.
7:20 AM - Wake up via alarm clock. Always wake at the same time each day.
7:30 AM - Floss teeth and use mouthwash. Don't use mouthwash at night because it will dry out your mouth, which will be uncomfortable in itself and keep you awake, and it will make you thirsty before bed, which might lead to you running to the bathroom at night.
7:45 AM - Eat a medium sized breakfast. Never skip.
8:00 AM - Ride bike to work. Exercise is very important.
9:00 AM - Have first and only coffee of the day. Spiking your energy level at the start of the day establishes a rhythm that allows you to wind down by the end of the day. No more caffeine or sugary beverages for the rest of the day. Make entry in sleep journal about how much sleep I got and other stuff.
12:00 PM - Eat a medium sized lunch (don't skip!) and go outside for a 20-minute walk. Get out of the shadows and let the sun shine on face and skin. No sunglasses--let it get in your eyes. Sunlight exposure is critical for proper melatonin production in body. Exercise is also very important.
3:00 PM - Go outside again for another walk, maybe 15 minutes. Again, get sunlight the whole time and walk continuously.
5:00 PM - Ride bike back home.
6:00 PM - Eat normal dinner.
8:00 PM - Computer off for the rest of the night starting now. All lights off except for one (which is dimmed REALLY low) starting now. Bright lights throw off melatonin production. Take shower now. Heat and pressure from the water is stimulating and shouldn't be done close to bed. Bathroom lit by a candle--no bright lights. Brush teeth.
8:30 - 9:30 PM - Sit reclined on couch watching relaxing/stupid TV program. Let muscles slowly relax and let heat from shower radiate from body. Cool down. Turn on bedroom humidifier and hang wet towels in bedroom to moisten the air (dry mouth and thirst is a sleep problem of mine).
9:30 - 10:15 PM - Turn off TV and start reading enjoyable fiction book. Stay on couch.
10:15 PM - Take 1/4 Melatonin tablet and 1/2 Xanax. Ideally, I would take no Xanax at all, but I can't cut it off yet and have to gradually cut it down to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
10:45 PM - Go to bed. Blackout curtains in bedroom must be totally shut and the alarm clock turned around so I can't see the time and stress over it. Room is almost pitch black each night--I can just see a black outline of my hand if I hold it in front of my face. Sleep usually comes in a half hour.
Other important lessons I've learned:
-Benzo drugs WORK, but they also have bad side effects if you use them for more than 2-3 weeks. It's a good idea to have a couple pills on standby just in case.
-Insomnia comes in episodes that last at least a couple consecutive days. If an episode starts, you cannot get out of it right away and will just have to more or less work with it. If you adopt a rigid schedule like I have, make some other changes particular to you (stress exercises, therapy, whatever), and STICK WITH IT each day, you will eventually reset your body's sleep schedule and you will prevail. But a couple days of misery might happen before that. Cope with the problem until then, and hold out hope.
whocoolkid
Excellent news! You're right. Staying on schedule is very important. I also adopted a schedule and have had great success.
deleted_user
great advice. The problem is I get to a point when i just feel too exhausted to excercise. Can you still cycle etc on so little sleep? I think that worries me, I think you can over do it but Im just lost here not knowing how and when to push myself or relax. Its difficult but if you can do it then i can try so Im off to get my wii out lol
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